|
Shallow Water Drilling
Shallow water drilling is the process of oil and gas exploration and production in less than 150 meters (500 feet) of water. Shallow water drilling differs from deepwater drilling in several key aspects. Shallow water rigs have legs that reach the bottom of the sea floor and have blowout preventers (BOPs) above the surface of the water that are accessible for inspection, maintenance and repair, and can be controlled either remotely or manually in case of an emergency. Shallow water wells primarily produce natural gas, and are drilled in known areas and mature reservoirs. Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S Department of the Interior imposed a moratorium on all offshore drilling, both deepwater and shallow water. The ban on shallow water drilling was lifted in May 2010. However, new regulations imposed on shallow water drilling have slowed the issuance of permits for new shallow water wells. Shallow water operators have called this permit slowdown a "de facto morat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrocarbon Exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Visible surface features such as oil seeps, natural gas seeps, pockmarks (underwater craters caused by escaping gas) provide basic evidence of hydrocarbon generation (be it shallow or deep in the Earth). However, most exploration depends on highly sophisticated technology to detect and determine the extent of these deposits using exploration geophysics. Areas thought to contain hydrocarbons are initially subjected to a gravity survey, magnetic survey, passive seismic or regional seismic reflection surveys to detect large-scale features of the sub-surface geology. Features of interest (known as ''leads'') are subjected to more detailed seismic surveys which work on the principle of the time it takes for reflected sound waves to travel throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drilling (oil)
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may be termed a gas well. Wells are created by drilling down into an oil or gas reserve that is then mounted with an extraction device such as a pumpjack which allows extraction from the reserve. Creating the wells can be an expensive process, costing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, and costing much more when in hard to reach areas, e.g., when creating offshore oil platforms. The process of modern drilling for wells first started in the 19th century, but was made more efficient with advances to oil drilling rigs during the 20th century. Wells are frequently sold or exchanged between different oil and gas companies as an asset – in large part because during falls in price of oil and gas, a well may be unproductive, but if price ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered to be the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. The United States federal government estimated the total discharge at . After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still leaking. The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history. A massive response ensued to protect beaches, wetlands and estuaries from the spreading oil utilizing skimmer ships, floating booms, controlled burns and of oil dispersant. Due to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of The Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and insular areas of the United States, as well as programs related to historic preservation. About 75% of federal public land is managed by the department, with most of the remainder managed by the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The department was created on March 3, 1849. The department is headed by the secretary of the interior, who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet. The current secretary is Deb Haaland. Despite its name, the Department of the Interior has a different ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2010 United States Deepwater Drilling Moratorium
On May 30, 2010 a 6-month moratorium on all deepwater offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf was declared by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The limitation was in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Background As a response to the disaster, on 30 April President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to hold the issuing of new offshore drilling leases until a review determined whether more safety systems were needed and authorized teams to investigate 29 oil rigs in the Gulf in an effort to determine the cause of the disaster. On May 27 the United States Department of the Interior issued a press release stating that Salazar would issue a 6-month offshore drilling (below of water) moratorium in the area. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar ordered immediate inspections of all deep-water operations in the Gulf of Mexico. An Outer Continental Shelf safety review board within the Department of the Inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deepwater Drilling
Deepwater drilling, or deep well drilling, is the process of creating holes in the Earth's crust using a drilling rig for oil extraction under the deep sea. There are approximately 3400 deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico with depths greater than 150 meters. Deepwater drilling has not been technologically or economically feasible for many years, but with rising oil prices, more companies are investing in this sector. Major investors include Halliburton, Diamond Offshore, Transocean, Geoservices, and Schlumberger. The deepwater gas and oil market has been back on the rise since the 2010 ''Deepwater Horizon'' disaster, with total expenditures of around US$35 billion per year in the market and total global capital expenditures of US$167 billion in the past four years. Industry analysis by business intelligence company Visiongain estimated in 2011 that total expenditures in global deepwater infrastructure would reach US$145 billion. A HowStuffWorks article explains how and why de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Department Of The Interior"){kind=logo}